Over 60,000 Escape Sudan's City In the wake of Takeover by Rapid Support Forces Militia, UN Reports
According to the UN refugee agency, in excess of 60,000 civilians have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the militia Rapid Support Forces during the weekend.
Reports indicate mass executions and atrocities as militia members stormed the city following an extended blockade featuring food shortages and sustained attacks.
The flow of those fleeing the fighting towards the town of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had accelerated in the last several days, per United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.
Survivors were narrating horrendous tales of abuses, such as sexual violence, and the organization was finding it difficult to locate adequate accommodation and supplies for them.
Each child was experiencing undernourishment, she commented.
It is estimated that more than 150,000 individuals are still stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the army's last stronghold in the western region of Darfur.
The RSF has disputed widespread allegations that the deaths in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and follow a pattern of the Arab paramilitaries focusing on ethnic minorities.
Yet the paramilitary group has detained one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with on-the-spot executions.
The group shared recordings revealing the militiaman's arrest after confirmation that he was responsible for the death of numerous non-combatants near el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has verified that it has removed the channel associated with Lulu. It is not clear whether he had operated the profile in his identity.
Sudan was entered a internal conflict in April 2023 after a vicious struggle for power broke out between its military and the RSF.
The conflict has caused a food crisis and accusations of genocide in the western Sudan.
In excess of 150,000 people have died in the war throughout the country, and approximately 12 million have fled their homes in what the UN has termed the biggest global humanitarian disaster.
The seizure of el-Fasher strengthens the geographic split in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in control of western Sudan and significant areas of neighbouring Kordofan to the south, and the army controlling the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.
The competing factions had been collaborators - coming to power together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but disagreed over an internationally backed proposal to move towards democratic governance.
